More projects in the pipeline

CEBU, Philippines — After Mayor Michael Rama presented his accomplishments during his first 100 days, Cebu City officials under the executive department has disclosed that several developments are already in the works and the city will continue to pursue for more.

Lawyer Jerone Castillo, Rama’s special assistant on fiscal matters and special projects, said that Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp. (MPTDC) has already committed to construct the additional access ramp from Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) to Barangay Guadalupe.

Castillo said the groundbreaking will be on October 28.

“They will construct the ramp according to plans,” he said as reported by the city’s Public Information Office (PIO).

The company of business tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan will invest P1 billion more for CCLEX to construct the Guadalupe ramp.

Even before getting reelected as mayor in May 2022, Rama said he would push for the construction of a ramp access from the Guadalupe River at CCLEX.

He said a ramp was included in the first phase of negotiations between MPTDC and the city government during his previous term as mayor in 2015.

The mayor said the ramp will help improve the situation near the mouth of the Guadalupe River, particularly for informal settlers along the coast of barangays Ermita, Suba, and Pasil.

Meanwhile, the city government is already looking for additional locations to develop more medium-rise buildings (MRBs) that will shelter the individuals that will be displaced as the city works on the recovery of easements along rivers and waterways.

Castillo said that the city has coordinated with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to develop a 50-hectare area across the South Road Properties (SRP) where the city can construct several MRBs.

With the aggressive operations of Task Force Gubat sa Baha, the city will also have to provide temporary shelters to accommodate those who will be displaced once the clearing operations commences.

Architect Joseph Michael Espina, head of the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), said they are working with the SRP Management Office to establish a 3-hectare area for the construction of the temporary housing at SRP.

“We need investors from the private sector who can build this for us. These are 3-storey structures that are pre-fabricated. Dili kaayo mahal,” said Espina.

Espina said that the city’s plan is to construct 30 of these buildings, where each has the capacity to house 24 units, equivalent to 24 families.

According to the Task Force Gubat sa Baha, an estimated 12,000 structures have encroached the easements, and their occupants must be relocated soon.

Lawyer Collin Rosell, the mayor’s executive secretary, said the city hopes for people to support the administration’s vision for a Singapore-like Cebu City.

“We need all the people to participate, do their part, and start in their very homes,” said Rosell.  – LPM (FREEMAN)